Normal was not my thing. Normal was for people who
didn’t see things at night or in shadows out of the corners of their
eyes. From day one, I had seen monsters, and if my mother hadn’t
seemed just as scared of them, I might have believed I was insane,
but she knew they were real. The monsters were as real as the
strange abilities I had. If I was scared, I would find myself home
within a minute even if I was miles away. When I got angry at
somebody, something bad would happen to them. At first, I
thought it was all coincidence, and even at the age of eighteen, I
was certain some days I was insane and couldn’t make the water
float around the bathroom or the fire become the shape of a dragon.
Then I walked past the shop and saw another monster, but this
time, I wasn’t the only one looking at it.

My arm trembles as I grip the cool handle of my pistol, keeping a firm grasp to ensure it doesn’t slip out of my sweaty hand. It usually stands sentry in my left nightstand to scare the nightmares away. But this isn’t a dream. The room is dark and hides the face of the man whose intent is to kill me. But I know who he is. A metallic taste fills my mouth; I want to gag. My blood drips off the blade in his hand in slow, steady beats on the carpet. My arms shake as I lift the barrel and point it in his direction. He doesn't move. His heavy breaths alert me to the meager distance between us.

We’re at a stalemate.

A soft glow from the lamppost just outside my window casts a sliver of light on his face. His dark, beady eyes that I have grown to know rake over my body like I'm another one of his many victims. He lifts the edges of his mouth into a smile. My heart plunges into my stomach.

She desperately needed a vacation. Unfortunately, her obligations didn’t allow much down time.
At the very least she needed a distraction of some sort.

The loud slam of a car door and a man’s muttered curse pulled her from this latest bout of self-pity and to the closest window. With the tips of her fingers, she slid the hand-made paper skeleton aside and stared out across her toy-strewn yard.

There in front of her, his arms filled with boxes, minus the one he’d dropped on the ground, stood the most handsome man she’d ever seen. A real-life Adonis, complete with dark, wavy hair and broad shoulders. When he turned toward the porch, she was gifted with an unencumbered view of his narrow hips and taut backside, both of which were encased in a pair of impossibly tight jeans.

She swallowed back the lump in her throat and licked her suddenly-dry lips. As distractions go…this one was darned-near perfect.

Amanda reached down to brush her fingers lightly against Gold, no longer the Gold. At her touch, it shined brighter than before. "Oh my goodness!" Goose bumps chilled her heart. "What is it?" It was concerned. "You. . .you have grown." "I have?" "I can see your ears now, Gold." "You can?" "They look like tiny little pearls." She smiled. "Wow!" She thought about something her dad once read to her. "Pearls of wisdom." "What's that?" "It means you are valuable." It glittered at that.

THE GOLD
Amanda reached down to brush her fingers lightly against Gold, no longer the Gold. At her touch, it shined brighter than before. "Oh my goodness!" Goose bumps chilled her heart. "What is it?" It was concerned. "You. . .you have grown." "I have?" "I can see your ears now, Gold." "You can?" "They look like tiny little pearls." She smiled. "Wow!" She thought about something her dad once read to her. "Pearls of wisdom." "What's that?" "It means you are valuable." It glittered at that.

Furman took off running in a panic in his knee pants and bare feet toward the house, but he took a shortcut through the briar patch in order to get there quicker. When he came bursting through the door, his legs were bloody all over. Novie looked at him and in a baffled voice asked, “What on earth have ye been a doin’? You’re as bloody as a hog!”
Furman answered, catching his breath, “Mommy, I want ya to listen to what’s a-comin’ up the road!”
About that time Novie heard the racket coming closer and closer. She walked over to the window and gasped in disbelief as she exclaimed, “They, Lord have mercy! Is the end of time a-comin’? Look a-comin’ yonder!”
Seeing the fear on his mother’s face, Furman ran to a pile of dirty clothes on the floor and crawled under them to hide. Etta hurried to the window to see what in the world was going on.